Commander of the Island’s Armed Forces, Princess Alara Skjelfjord plans to kick the haughty reptile’s butt back to where he came from. But the dragon emissary is hotter than a lava tube, and much as she wants to get rid of him, she wants to ride him first.

Alara inflames Kai’s body but denies him her heart. It’s only when Kai questions the very beliefs that made him that he can earn her love and become the dragon he was destined to be.

Let's get to know Daisy...

1.) How important do you feel cover art is in the ebook industry? Do you feel your covers reflect the stories within them?

Great question! I started reading romance only after I got a kindle, so I’ve wondered whether I would have started reading romance if I’d had to buy actual paper books with (as my 8 year old daughter puts it) “big, beefy men” on the covers. When I first read in the genre, I winced at cover art involving oiled and manscaped torsos.

I loved the subdued black and white clinche on the cover of my first book, Mere Temptation. But now that I’m in the business and have seen more covers, I appreciate the allure of the flashier and more risqué pictures. I think they do sell books, as well as give the reader a taste of the excitement to come. (Heehee. I said, “ to come.”)

My Mere Passion cover is flashier, more dramatic, and represents the book extremely well. It shows the fire and ice dichotomy of my hero and heroine- a sea dragon from the South Pacific and a mermaid from the Arctic.

As for the industry- I think good cover art is a must! Some publishers skimp on covers and I think it’s to their detriment. As an author, I want to feel that my work is well-represented, and as a reader, I want an attractive collection on my iPhone.

2.) Are the books in your Ocean Shifters series stand alone novels? If so, do you intertwine past characters and settings in recurring books?

I write each book so that one could read it as a stand-alone, but the characters do carry over from book to book. John Karon, for example, plays a prominent role in both the first and the second books. Also, I enjoy taking a character that’s a bit of a bad guy in one book and morphing him into hero in the next book.

Those who read Mere Temptation will recognize Kai Nasu from Key Sirena, and won’t feel bad for him at all when Alara hands him his ass. (Bwahahaha.)

3.) Ocean shifters, eh? For some reason I'm thinking dirty fish sex. Give us the low down on your shifters.

There are three ocean shifters species- mere (mer-people), sea dragons, and shark-shifters. Mere can only have sex in human form. Dragons spend most of their time in reptile form when not around humans, and they generally screw as reptiles. However, if you’ve ever seen reptile sex on the Discovery Channel you know it’s really boring.

Sharks also tend to have sex in human form. They can as sharks, but prefer to spend time as human.

In terms of social dynamics, The Dragon Empire historically ruled the oceans and held colonies in most mere habitats. Dragons can live in water or outside it, while mere dehydrate if they get more than a mile or so from the Ocean. Sharks can only survive in or above water- in boats, on docks, so their ability to form groups and earn money is very limited. Historically they acted as scavengers, usually raiding mere communities to survive.

So if you look back 100 years, dragons used mere as slave labor, but also protected them from shark-shifter scavengers. However, my stories are written in present day, and the empire has been slowly pulling out of its mere colonies. Meanwhile, some shark-shifters have organized into smuggling cartels.

Nowadays, mere have more to fear from avaricious scientists than they do from sharks. Though dragons still hold power and influence in the oceans as well as with humans, they need to figure out their place in the new world order.

4.) How long does it take you to finish a book? Do you write every day?

I do write every day. My bare minimum daily word count is 1000 words, but that’s when I’m not editing, revising, or storyboarding. Currently I’m turning out a new story every other month or so, but I’m not sure if I can keep up that pace now that I have to market too!

5.) What are you working on now and what can we expect from you in the future?

Right now, I’m working on a fourth Ocean Shifters story, a male-male romance. I’ve also completed the first book in a new series (zombie-robot hybrids. Shhhhhh…) I’m tentatively calling my new series “Love Dolls.” I also have a few ideas for some holiday-themed stories.

I’m not one to plan very far in advance. Plus, at some point I’d like to write a full-length novel. Right now all my stories are short-novel length, which I think work great as serials and e-books, but I want to start brainstorming some longer works.

However, no matter what I write it’ll be a series. Building a new world is too much trouble for only one book!